Simulated Nightmare
by Hisoka yume
Summary: "Just give up DIB! You obviously can't beat me. And, as far as the situation is right now, you have no other choice. You're just a puppet on a string. And I'm the one holding the string. ZIM is the one calling the shots now."


**~ Disclaimer:_ I_ _don't own Invader ZIM_ ~**

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><p>He was running…running away from the unsuspecting danger. Nothing was really occupying the boy's mind than the thought of trying to lose in what was chasing him. As he continued to run down the side-walk, his heart was beating ever so rapidly, and, due to the fear manipulating his body, he himself was starting to tremble and sweat. This can't go on forever he must have thought. In the end, if he doesn't do something now, he'll end up being at the mercy of the predator.<p>

Hoping to have some time to think of a solution, the boy then ran towards an alley and hid behind two trash cans. Even if it wasn't _the _ideal hiding spot, he was at least happy that he was able to catch his breath for a few seconds. And also, by the looks of it, since everything was surprisingly calm and quiet now; the boy slowly began to think he was safe. So, in the end, to reinsure himself of the thought, he got up from his hiding spot and took a peek. Only to find that nobody was there; he was completely alone.

At this point, you would think that he would be relieved, for him to finally be able to go home, but no, even though the threat isn't visible, the boy knew very well that it was still some-where near; him ultimately feeling a chill running down his spine. Though, little did he know, was that when he was focusing his attention to the entrance of the alley, a dark shadow slowly appeared behind him. And then…once when the shadow reached out and touched the boy's shoulder….it was all over. The last thing he saw when he turned around, were devilish red eyes beaming down on him.

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><p>What a relief, the school day had finally ended. Seriously, after all the constant troubles the little, "soon-to-be- paranormal investigator," has been having, Dib figured that it would be nice to just be home, and relax on his bed. Especially on a day like today, it could be him, but after failing again miserably on trying to convince his classmates about Zim being an alien, it kinda seemed like the Irken had been getting on the children's good-side lately.<p>

To Dib, this makes the situation even harder, since now the kids are starting to think that he is not only crazy…but a bully as well. Honestly, Dib can be many things, but one thing's for sure, he would never ever consider himself to be called something as low as a bully; especially since he's the only one in the world that's trying to save the human race.

"Stupid skool…

Stupid kids….

…and stupid Zim….

My head isn't big…

I am not crazy…

…and I'm certainly _**not**_ a bully…" Dib said to himself; as he walked along the sidewalk.

"If only…If only if there was a way for the kids to believe me about Zim, honestly, if they knew the truth, then they wouldn't be acting this way at all."

He then stopped mid-way and raised his hand; feeling his messy scythe like- hair. Apparently a little while ago, before class was dismissed, Zim ended up making a paper airplane and threw it at Dib's head. Because of what he did, Dib tried to tell the class that Zim was the real bully, but it sadly failed when Zim defended himself by saying that he was just trying to pass a _friendly_ note, even though by the hidden smirk on his face, it obviously wasn't true, or was it? Giving a sigh, Dib then took out the paper airplane from his hair and out of curiosity, unfolded it.

_Just give up DIB!_

_You obviously can't beat me. _

_And, as far as the situation is right now, you have no other choice. _

_You're just a puppet on a sting…_

_**And I'm the one holding the string**_….

_ZIM is the one calling the shots now…._

Once when Dib finished reading the note, he just basically stared at it in confusion. He knows that Zim loves to talk about a lot of things, even things that don't even make sense, but seeing this note in his hand, Dib just couldn't get what Zim could possibly have meant. Overall, the note gave a vibe of Zim being in control over him, but the thing is, how? Was Zim just planning to keep messing with Dib; to basically make everyone see him as a bully…or, was there something else going on…something that Dib wasn't quite getting.

In the end, Dib crumbled up the paper, and simply threw it in the trash that was in back of him.

"I don't know what you're planning this time Zim, but what-ever it is, I'm going to stop you…"

And with those words said, Dib then started walking again, heading to his house. Once when he arrived, stepping onto the front porch, Dib then turned to his pocket, digging his hand around for the keys. After a second, he then pulled them out and put one of the keys into the keyhole of the door. Once when the door was unlocked, Dib then put the keys back into his pocket and opened it.

"I'm home!" he called out; entering the house.

Though, once when Dib closed the door behind him, there was nothing but silence.

"_Weird, there's usually some-one here," _Dib thought.

"Gaz?!" he called out; wondering if she was around.

Though there was no response.

"_Hmm…I know that we didn't walk home together like we usually do, since she didn't want to for today, but I figured she would have been here before me._

…_I hope nothing bad has happened to her….." _

Though, before Dib let his imagination run wild, he continued to search for Gaz to make sure if she was or wasn't home.

"Gaz?" he called out.

"Dad?" he couldn't help but say.

Since rarely of the times their father would be home.

Though as Dib walked, there was still no response.

"_Hmm…maybe in the kitchen?" _

As he proceeded there, Dib then turned on the light, and saw that the room was empty. After seeing this, he was going to go upstairs and check in Gaz's room, but the note on the refrigerator ended up capturing his attention instead.

"Huh, what's this?" he asked out loud; walking up to the fridge.

He then took the note, and started to read it.

_Dib, had gone out. _

_ Went to go get in line for the new GS3. _

_ Won't be home til 7…maybe. _

_ -Gaz _

Dib then gave a slight sigh.

"Her and her games, there's just no stopping her when-ever she comes across a new commercial.

I just hope that she took the bat with her; otherwise I'll probably never hear the end of it from Dad if something bad really _does _happen to her… "

Though, just thinking about how his sister is, Dib then shook his head.

"What am I saying, it's Gaz….if anyone had the right mind to mess with her, well… that person would be in for a serious world full of hurt."

With that being said, Dib then looked at the clock that was on the wall.

"Hmm…I guess I have the whole house to myself until she gets back.

I can relax for a little while, and then start figuring out what Zim could be planning."

* * *

><p>As time continued to pass, Dib was just sitting on the couch, watching T.V.; no doubt watching his favorite show, "Mysterious Mysteries."<p>

No matter if it was a re-run or a new episode; Dib would always watch the show nonetheless. At times, due to all the _stuff_ he has to deal with, Dib would find that watching this show was a sense of escape for him; to mostly forget about his troubles, and just enjoy in what he loves.

As Dib's eyes were still glued to the T.V., he took another piece of popcorn from a bowl and ate it. Though, as thunder suddenly struck, he nearly chocked.

"What?" he said turning to the window.

Oddly enough, it was completely dark outside, though, once when lightning and thunder came into the mix, the electricity ended up going out; making the whole house undeniably dark as well.

"Great, just when it was getting to the good part," Dib said annoyed; getting off the couch.

"Better get a flashlight," he continued.

Wasting no time, Dib then walked and headed up the stairs, though once when he got off the last step, a phone suddenly started to ring. It was basically one of those old fashion phones that their father had kept for years.

"_Hmm…maybe it's Gaz."_

So Dib simply walked over to the hallway, and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

Though there was no response…

"Hello, anybody there?"

Though there was still no response.

Because of the steady silence and being surrounded in total darkness, Dib was starting to worry….wondering what was going on. And then, in that very moment, he suddenly felt some-kind of presence in back of him. Curiosity clearing getting the better of him, Dib turned and instantly saw a monstrous shadow on the wall. Normally he wouldn't be scared, but since the being was soo close, he let out a yelp and jumped back; knocking over the phone in the process.

And, since being in the dark can evidently let loose your imagination, especially if you're a kid, Dib started to think that an actual monster was going to come out and take him away. He instantly felt something bind his legs together as he fell to the floor.

"Oh no, it's got me!"

Dib tried to escape the monster's evil clutches, though, once when he opened his eyes and saw his legs, he felt extremely embarrassed. What really happened, was that when Dib fell to the floor, he accidently tangled his legs together with the phone's cable. Noticing how silly he had reacted, Dib let out a chuckle.

"_Thank goodness Gaz didn't see me. _

_She'll probably call me an idiot for doing something this stupid._

_Wait a minute, what about the shadow?" _

Dib then looked at the wall and instead of seeing the monster; it was his own shadow.

"Huh, I could have sworn I saw something," he said waving his hand.

Though, as Dib let the thought slide for a moment, he quickly untangled himself, got up, and put the phone back where it belonged. As of now, you would think everything will be fine, but, as Dib continued to examine the hallway, he started to get a weird feeling, a very **bad** weird feeling, oddly enough, the only time Dib ever felt this…"frighten", was when he was once trapped inside his own twisted mind.

At this point, not thinking about his sister Gaz, the power outage, or even for the most part…Zim, Dib started to head to his bedroom; having a sense of being "safe" there.

"On second thought, forget about the flashlight….

I-I'm going to bed instead."

But, even though he reached his bedroom door, Dib still had the weird feeling…as if someone or, something was watching him. At this moment, he knew he should just ignore the feeling and just go to his room, but curiosity struck again, leaving Dib to turn his back. Though like before, there was nothing there, but his own shadow.

"_Hmph, I'm probably getting work up over nothing,"_ he thought; waving his hand again.

Though he quickly thought otherwise when he looked at the shadow, at this point, Dib didn't know if it was for real, or if he was just imagining it. Since he was looking at his shadow while waving his hand at the same time, Dib expected the shadow to wave back as well, and it did, though just a few seconds _after_ he did.

Not knowing how to react, Dib just blinked and stared in confusion. Though, pretty soon after, thinking that he was just tired, Dib then turned, about to enter his room. It was probably getting old very quickly, but, as Dib was about to walk, he then suddenly felt something go underneath his feet.

"What?"

Though as he looked down, there was nothing there.

"_I don't know what it is, but, something is going on." _

After picking his head up, Dib then walked into his room, closed the door, and got ready for bed. Considering the fact that he felt better being in the covers, sleeping wasn't really an option. No, due to the roaring storm outside, it was nearly impossible to even fall asleep; leaving Dib hopelessly wide awake.

Though, after a while of staring at the ceiling, he was just about to close his eyes, until he unexpectedly heard a loud thump. Because of this, Dib immediately stood up from his bed, and looked at his door.

"Gaz?" he wondered.

But….it wasn't her. As Dib continued to look around his room, the weird feeling instantly came back. Dib didn't know what was happening, but, as soon as he started to see his own breath; noting that the room was getter colder, he knew it couldn't be good. And then, from that point, once when Dib closed his eyes and slowly opened them; he saw that his room was no longer the same, what he was seeing instead, was a much darker version of his room.

"This…this place looks familiar…" he whispered.

And in that instant, after taking in the twisted environment, Dib knew where he was.

"No," he gasped in horror.

He then got out of the covers and stood on the bed. Though, before he could do anything else, a portal suddenly appeared underneath him. And since it wasn't expected, Dib ended up falling in, screaming. As he was mid-way into the portal, he instantly saw a shadow circling around him; no doubt it was probably the same shadow he saw before, though what Dib didn't count on, was for the shadow to split into five.

After a second, all of the five shadows took form, and one by one, approached him.

"I hope you like nightmare worlds," the monstrous girl said.

To no surprise, since Dib seen her before, the monstrous girl was no doubt, the darker version of Gaz.

Pretty soon, as he continued to fall, the sound of maniacal laughter filled Dib's ears. As soon as he turned, he saw that it came from the next person. The dark version of his father was just laughing, and circled around him once.

After that, the next one to greet Dib was his teacher.

"You may have escaped once, but you won't this time," the dark version of Ms. Bitters said.

You're doomed…doomed…dooooomed," her voice echoed as she disappeared.

"Come play with us Dib," Keef approached disgustedly happy.

Then, as if the boy wasn't already scary enough, Keef's green eyes instantly dissolved into red.

"Come play with us….forever…."

Then, without further warning, Dib finally landed hard on the ground. Due to what was happening, it only took him a few seconds to shake off the pain. Once when Dib looked up to see where he ended up, it turned out to be the outside, in front of the skool. Though, there standing just a few inches in front of him, where the twisted versions of the people he knows. All of them Dib recognized but one. As he looked at the unknown being, he saw the being had a black hooded robe.

Without saying a word, the being suddenly walked to Dib, and once when he was close enough, he stopped and gazed down at him.

"Who-" though before Dib could ask, the being then took of his hood revealing himself.

And, as soon as he saw his face, Dib's eyes widen in shock.

"_I don't get it, how can he be here? _

_Why would he be here? _

_For Pete's sake he was even scared of this place," _Dib said in his mind.

"ZIM!" he said out loud.

It didn't really cross Dib's mind due to shock, but, it really was questionable if it was the same Zim that Dib knew. Since this Zim was with the other nightmare figures, who's to say that he wasn't one as well. After all, his appearance was a bit unsettling. Zim basically had his black wig and lavender-blue contacts on, but instead of the wig being neat, it was all messy, and, he pretty much had a crazed look in his eye as well.

Still not saying a word, Zim then oddly summoned a weapon. And once when it materialized into his grasp, it revealed itself to be a scythe.

"Time to bury all your troubles Dib," Zim spoke; lowering his weapon at the boy.

At this point, with his imagination running wild, thinking of the worst as the rest of the nightmares slowly surrounded him, Dib screamed.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

><p>"Oooh, he's doing it again," G.I.R. said; eyeing at the big test tube.<p>

Hearing his minion, Zim tore away from his work, and slowly got up from his chair. Once when he walked over, joining G.I.R, Zim nonetheless stared at the test tube. It turned out that the person who was inside…was no one other than Dib himself. Seeing that he was moving around, showing great discomfort, it really made Zim quite pleased with himself, knowing that his ingenious plan was working smoothly so far.

Though he had to admit, due to how smart Dib is, Zim thought it probably wouldn't have worked; due to the _note _that the other Zim gave Dib, Zim figured that Dib would have caught on to what was happening. But, judging in what Zim was seeing, he never did.

"Funny, it started off as a regular day, only for the day to reveal itself as a nightmare for the foolish human."

"Hmph, it was a real pain to capture him, but hopefully with me being able to monitor and control in what is happening in his mind, it'll be worth it," Zim said.

"Uh…I don't get it.

Didn't you do this kinda thing before?

What makes this time any different?" G.I.R asked his Master.

Zim then looked at G.I.R…all was silent for a moment.

In all honesty, the natural response Zim would have given his robot, was for him to **not** question him, but, considering how he was in a good mood, he decided to answer G.I.R's questions.

After starting off with a little chuckle, he then began to speak.

"Heh heh heh….I'll admit, the first time when I created a false-world for Dib, my intentions were rather rash, after all, I should have known from the start that he threw that muffin at MY head!

But anyways, what makes this time different G.I.R, is that my intentions are in the right place; to finally break the human. With the use of that technology, and being able to tap into Dib's _horrible_ mind, I was able to create a convincing duplicate, though adding a different version of myself into the equation.

And, due to past experiences of being in that hideous nightmare world, Dib will undeniably think that he was sent back there, even though it's nothing more but a bad dream.

A bad dream he can never awake from…" Zim said smirking; now eyeing at the tube, seeing the helmet and wires that Dib was attached to.

"Never?" G.I.R asked.

"Ever," Zim stated.

"Well….then again, like all bad dreams, if Dib some-how was able to conquer those fears, or more specifically _his _fears, then he would wake up, but, judging by how things are going, I highly doubt that will happen.

And, there's also the other option of me just ending the dream since I'm the one calling the shots here, but Zim plans to prolong the Dib's suffering until the right moment."

"And when will that be?" G.I.R asked.

"Until I'm absolutely certain that he has been consumed by his own fear."

"Oooh," G.I.R simply said.

Though, after a few seconds, he then started to giggle insanely, and before Zim knew it, G.I.R ran off; no doubt going upstairs to watch his favorite shows.

Not really surprised by the S.I.R unit's behavior, Zim just gave a sigh and shook his head.

"Sometimes I wonder what really goes on in that insane head of his."

With nothing else left to say and now being alone, Zim once again looked back at his enemy; thinking.

"_Hmm...t__hey say humans are vulnerable to fear, and if not conquered, the fear itself can easily overtake them, controlling them in the end. _

_Hmph, how pitiful, it is clear that we Irkens are the superior race since we are not taken by fear. _

_For we fear nothing! _

_ZIM FEARS' NOTHING! _

_And…if this continues to go as planned, then I'll surely be one step closer into taking over this planet. _

_Dib will no longer be a problem since he'll end up being my __**slave**__. _

_I control his mind…his fears…which means I'll control him." _

Zim then walked closer to the tube, and narrowed his ruby eyes.

"I hoped you slept well these past few nights you miserable human, for it is the last peaceful sleep you'll ever get."

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><p><span><em><strong>Author's Note<strong>_

Yeah sooo, I basically did this to try and get into the Halloween spirit since it's October. And, it's probably not as noticeable, since not a lot of people know of it's existence, or, so I've heard, but, like my other IZ story that was based on a movie (it being a parody), this story is a parody based on an old computer game called **"Nightmare Ned. "**

And, if you don't know what it is and would like to know, you can just go on YouTube and look up the intro. (Especially since most of the story comes from the intro) Anyway, to keep it short, the other reason why I also wrote this, was mainly due to a childhood thought of believing that Invader Zim and Nightmare Ned were some-what similar. Both pretty much having a dark atmosphere, and also because of the Dark Harvest episode; the concept of organs being stolen, literally reminded me of the game as a kid, since in the game your organs get taken if not careful, and you have limited chances to win them back.

And...I guess the other similarity the two have is that once when the game had a show, it was short-lived just like Invader Zim. Though Zim lasted longer and isn't really forgotten like Nightmare Ned is, oh well.

Thank you for reading this and hope you enjoyed the story.


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